1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a load detector, and more particularly to a load detector in which a load sensor is placed in a case.
2. Description of the Related Art
International Publication No. WO2010/113698 disloses and information input apparatus having a pressure detecting unit is disclosed in. The information input apparatus disclosed in International Publication No. WO2010/113698 is structured so that an initial load is applied to a pressure detecting unit by a load applying member.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-279080 discloses a load detector (in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-279080, the load detector is referred to as the load sensor). FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a load detector 110 described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-279080 as a conventional example. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the load detector 110 in the conventional example includes a diaphragm 104, a driving body 102 placed on the upper surface of the diaphragm 104, and a manipulating body 101 placed above the upper surface of the driving body 102 with elastic bodies 103 intervening between them. The diaphragm 104, driving body 102, elastic bodies 103, and manipulating body 101, which constitute the load detector 110, are built into a case 105.
When the manipulating body 101 is pressed, the driving body 102 is pressed through the elastic bodies 103 and the diaphragm 104 is displaced in its height direction accordingly.
The load detector disclosed in International Publication No. WO2010/113698 is problematic in that since the load sensor in an exposed state is built into an electronic unit, the load detector cannot be easily handled.
With the load detector 110 described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-279080 as a conventional example, the diaphragm 104 is placed in the case 105, the diaphragm 104 corresponding to a sensor is not directly touched.
In the load detector 110 in the conventional example, however, the driving body 102, elastic bodies 103, and manipulating body 101 are placed on the same side as the upper surface of the diaphragm 104 as members by which a load is transferred to the diaphragm 104. Therefore, the load detector 110 in the conventional example includes many parts, making it difficult to reduce the size and profile of the load detector 110.
As illustrated in FIG. 13, the load detector 110 in the conventional example includes a stopper mechanism in which the lower surface 101a of the manipulating body 101 abuts the peripheral part of the diaphragm 104. The stopper mechanism is structured so that the manipulating body 101 comes into direct contact with the diaphragm 104 to stop the displacement of the manipulating body 101. When the stopper mechanism functions, therefore, an excessive load is applied to the diaphragm 104. This is problematic in that, for example, the diaphragm 104 may be damaged or sensor sensitivity may be lowered.